COLUMN: Tales of the Southwest

In 2012, five of the “Big 6” siblings went to visit our Aunt Mary and Uncle Rusty in Chama, N.M. We found lodging in the “Casitas of Tierra Wools” in Los Ojos. While relaxing together, we looked for comedy at every turn. That made this trip unforgettable.

The little town of Los Ojos was not far from Heron State Park where our aunt and uncle camped in the summer. The town was so small, with only one main drag stretching two blocks long.

Los Ojos reminded us of an old cowboy town with the wooden porches for sidewalks. Each store had porch lights as the only night lights in this sleepy town. “Tierra Wools,” a school that taught wool processing, was the main store. They had a strong WiFi signal that we could use, so we sat on their wooden porch with a one-bulb light at night to get the signal and called it our private “internet cafe.” As you well know, the internet has become a must in our world today.

Our two rooms were pieced together from a remodeled southwestern home. The main room had two bedrooms, bathroom, large living room, dining room and a big kitchen. The other room was down a decorative hallway of windows to the room with two queen beds, bathroom, and a small kitchen. These casitas were used by students who came for schooling at Tierra Wools. New Mexico is known for its wool production as an agricultural industry.

The Los Ojos post office was between the Tierra Wools store and our casitas.

There were no street lights between the two. During the night way out in the desert, it was pitch black.

One late evening after George was finally finished at the porch café, he began to walk back in the dark. Earlier that day at the park, the ranger spoke, “there is an influx of mountain lions. Try to be alert for them. They crouch, and you don’t know they are around until they are upon you.”

Meanwhile, the rest of us were back in the casitas.

“Philip, go check on George as it is getting late,” we told him.

As Philip rounded the corner of the post office, there was George. Philip heard George approaching in the gravel, but Philip was simply strolling on the grass. When Philip saw George, he quietly said, “Hey!”

A startled George jumped and started to run because he was thinking about the mountain lion. The darkness impaired his vision. Of course, Philip laughed and said, “What’s the matter with you?”

“I thought you were a mountain lion and I was dead meat,” replied George.

Of course, we all enjoyed that story.

Every morning, the sun brightly shone through the windows of the casitas. One by one, we would gather in the large kitchen and dining room. We ate breakfast, drank coffee, bragged about our individual medicine cocktails and worked puzzles.

Many had brought crossword puzzles, word search, sudoku and others — mostly from the newspaper. I never worked those puzzles before. I was totally amazed at how quickly they all worked the crossword puzzles. The questions were foreign to me, and my siblings were so smart, I thought. I kept asking them the clues, and they would all answer in unison. I was so very impressed at them. In a few days, I realized the questions are very similar and are repeated in many puzzles. They aren’t so smart after all, unless we count memory.

Did you know some months have two moons and the second one is called a “blue moon?” While there, we were in a blue-moon phase. At the Heron State Park information center, they asked us if we wanted to make some “blue moon” greeting cards. All of us sat at tables making cards for two hours like we were back in 4-H. We cut, pasted and used markers. Then sent our cards back home to loved ones.

One day, we drove to Ghost Ranch. That is where Chimney Rock is located. The movie “City Slickers,” with Billy Crystal, was shot here. The school there has an emphasis on western art. This is where Georgia O’Keefe lived and did most of her work. She started doing workshops here years ago; then the school came along.

While visiting Chimney Rock, we decided to hike the trail up to the massive rock that resembles a chimney. The heat was intense and the walk was more challenging than we expected. Most of us turned back, but some made it all the way to its peak. Of course, he doesn’t have good sense to come in from the rain, so I won’t mention his name.

Many good memories were shared, and we’re glad we made the trip.

Phyllis (Dow) Bex is native of Morgan County, who grew up on a farm west of Paragon. She presently lives in Greenwood.